Relationships

(Originally posted on July 9th 2009)

I am writing this from the tube. A strange place to be writing a blog from but thank God for emails and blackberries.There were 2 old people in the tube and a blond pony tailed man gave up his seat and took them by the hand and escorted both of them by the hand. The man was partially blind and the lady needed the help of a walking stick. It was then that another girl got up and so did I.

I was too busy reading that Primark had an increase in their sales. Sometimes we are so engrossed in the economics of the world and the next big idea that we forget that the primary responsibility of a relationship manager or a fund manager is to get their client from the precarious position of leaning against the sliding doors of a crowded moving train to a seat of safety.

We are lucky to have some really good relationship managers. They were there to take us from the door to the seat. They were also there to tell us when to get up and start running and when to get out of the train and to sit on the benches and just watch the trains go by.

However there is one bank which we are not happy with. Their focus is not on building a long term relationship. There is little alternative to what they have to offer so for the time being we are staying put. However getting into this bank has opened my eyes to the seedier side of the finance field. A world due to various reasons I have escaped from. A world that I read about through the columns and books written by Geraint Anderson. Reading that a world exists where people are willing to do anything for money and actually seeing it and hearing about it is two different things. The scales have been falling from my eyes. In this world of greed there are few things that can save us. Ethics, concern about our fellow people, compassion and love. It is the small things in life that matter. Money is important but it is not the end all. The hug from a true friend, the kiss of a lover, laughing at the silliest of things and the pleasure of a family. These are the things that matter in the end.